Ecuador
Punta Moreno, Isabela Island
Punta Moreno: A Guided Landing on Isabela's West Coast
Punta Moreno lies on western Isabela, the largest island in the Galápagos and one of the younger ones. This coast and neighboring Fernandina are the only places in the world where flightless cormorants live.
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A Guided Landing
Punta Moreno is a land visitor site of Galápagos National Park on Isabela's west coast, and the activity allowed there is walking with a park-certified naturalist guide. The park sets every cruise itinerary, so your ship decides when you come ashore.
- Groups have no more than 16 passengers for each naturalist guide.
- The cold Cromwell Current wells up along Isabela's west coast and makes it a feeding ground for fish, whales, dolphins and seabirds.
- About 95 percent of Galápagos penguins live on Fernandina and the west coast of Isabela.
Visiting Rules
Punta Moreno is national park land, so the park's rules apply from the first step ashore.
- Walk only where the trail is marked.
- Keep at least two meters between you and any animal, even one that comes toward you, and never feed wildlife.
- Switch off the flash when photographing animals.
- Bring no food, plants or animals ashore, and do not take or buy souvenirs made from black coral, shells, lava rock, animal parts, or native wood or plants.
- Smoking and fires are banned in the park, and you carry all your trash back aboard.
A Brief History
Isabela was built by six shield volcanoes that grew together. Its history is one of eruptions, buccaneers and small settlements in the south.
- Six volcanoes: From north to south they are Ecuador, Wolf, Darwin, Alcedo, Sierra Negra and Cerro Azul, and all except Ecuador are still active. Wolf, at 1,707 m, is the highest point in the Galápagos.
- 1684: The buccaneer Cowley named the island Albemarle, after the Duke of Albemarle.
- Pirates and whalers: Tagus Cove, on the northwest side, gave pirates, buccaneers and whalers a sheltered anchorage, and Charles Darwin visited it in 1835.
- 1893: Antonio Gil from Guayaquil settled southern Isabela, founding Puerto Villamil on the coast and Santo Tomás in the highlands, where sulfur was mined.
- Eruptions: Sierra Negra and Cerro Azul have each erupted several times since 1959.
- 1958: Convicts revolted at the penal colony on Isabela, escaped in fishing boats and seized another boat at Punta Moreno.
- To learn more ashore: The Charles Darwin Research Station, on Academy Bay in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island, has exhibits on the islands' natural history.
Punta Moreno with Children
A guided landing here suits children who can walk on rough ground in strong sun and stay close to the group. The animals are the reason to come.
- Younger children: Galápagos penguins live along this coast, and they are the only penguins that live north of the equator. Ask your guide whether any are around.
- School age: Flightless cormorants live only on Fernandina and on the northern and western coasts of Isabela. Their wings are only about a third of the size they would need to fly, and their feathers are not waterproof, so after each dive they spread their wings to dry.
- Teenagers: Isabela has more wild giant tortoises than all the other islands together, with a separate kind on each volcano. Ask your guide which volcano is nearest.
Accessible Travel
Getting ashore can mean a slippery step onto wet rock, and rocky paths are hard going for anyone with limited mobility or balance, although most Galápagos walks are not strenuous. Ask your ship what the landing at Punta Moreno involves before you book.
- Bring a hat, water and sun protection.
- Travel health insurance is mandatory for foreign visitors entering the Galápagos.
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